TempleCon, a three-day event held Friday through Sunday at the Crowne Plaza, attracted 2,000 to 2,500 enthusiasts and curiosity seekers, according to organizers. Founded in 2006, the event celebrates all things with a retro-futuristic theme. War games were played in the Crowne’s large ballroom where the roll of dice and strategy determined the outcome of skirmishes to outright battles ranging from 30 minutes to two hours.

“I used to play with toy soldiers when I was a boy,” said John Walsh, who traveled from Boston. Walsh said he was never too good at golf and much prefers battling it out with the soldiers he’s created. He compared a battle to the game of rock, paper and scissors.

And while the games went on, the trio of Dean Johnson, Decio Terra and Frank Thibert did some strategizing of their own. The trio held raffles throughout the event to benefit the Rhode Island Community Food Bank. Johnson especially thanked former Warwick School Committee member Patrick Maloney for his contribution of raffle prizes. Maloney owns and operates The Game On of Warwick.

According to the TempleCon website, those who started it say, “We think that things gaming and fandom need to finally be dragged out of the basement and into the ballroom. TempleCon breaks a lot of the long-standing rules of ‘geek’ conventions, and offers up a diverse event full of wild parties, great games, live music, crazy performances, guests, workshops, vendors and a ton more stuff that we think you'll like.”